I Don’t do Resolutions

The exact second I rang in Y2K. That’s the year 2000 for you kids out there.

For as many years as I can remember, I’ve sworn off New Year’s resolutions. “If you want to do something, just do it. What does it matter what time of year it is?” was always my mantra.

I think tying yourself to January 1st can be a recipe for failure–it’s just so arbitrary. From a quick Google search, I see that 80% of resolutions fail by February, and 92% fail eventually.

But… this year I felt like making one.

I have really been digging into a bunch of books and researching various topics, including the Ice Age settlement of the Americas, green energy and climate change, plus some highly recommended fiction. So it seemed like January 1, 2019, would be about when I got through my Netflix cue and maybe could shut ‘er down (we’ve already cut the cord on cable).

So three I-guess-you-could-call-them-resolutions have crystallized in my mind. Maybe keeping up this blog would be No. 4, but I don’t want to get too crazy here.

READ MORE: Spend all down-time reading, not with the TV on. Maybe I’ll keep an escape hatch of allowing myself Netflix while cooking or cleaning or otherwise being productive doing another task.

FITNESS/STRENGTH: I really want to get fitter. I love lifting weights and it greatly helps with my riding. Plus lifting weights increases your metabolism and bone density, and may ease or prevent depression. (Of course I would like the side effect of an awesome bod!) I started going to the gym in March of 2018, but it’s gone in fits and starts. I’ve lost 12 pounds, but that’s not really the metric that I’m focused on so much as increased muscle/decreased fat. If I could work out 3x/week, I’d be thrilled. I’m going to the barn 7 days a week, so at least I move around a little even if I’m not at the gym. But really dialing in and being consistent is the goal.

BETTER NUTRITION: I also started working on this in 2018 in June, when I did a Faster Way to Fat Loss boot camp with my friend/coach Chelsea. It was very helpful to get into new habits for 6 weeks with accountability and a group that’s going through the same struggles and victories. I’ve been watching some Netflix shows about organic farming, whole-food nutrition, and trying to curb many of the common “western” killers through better diet. I am inspired, although I’m also an extremely picky eater. But I’ve learned to cook and don’t mind doing it now, which is a big step of progress. I still eat too many processed foods though, and would love to clean things up for both health and fitness reasons.

I am mostly writing this to keep myself accountable. Do you make resolutions? Share if you feel comfortable! We’re all in this together.

I think you are right! Usually I just eat pizza and mac ‘n’ cheese, and feel like crap. Time to be a little more thoughtful. As for #1, it’s not that I think TV is “bad,” just that I really need to carve out the time for reading all these books I want to dig in to. I’ve tried to curb my Netflix toward documentaries already – planning a next post about what I’ve watched with reviews for anyone looking for recommendations!